Mandai Wildlife Group- Steven
Steven moved to Singapore in 2010 with his wife Betty and together, they joined the Mandai Wildlife Group as Docents in 2014. In 2018, Steven took up an additional role as a Volunteer Keeper with the Avian team at the Jurong Bird Park and has been volunteering in dual roles ever since. While guest engagement duties were suspended due to the pandemic, Steven continued to volunteer with their animal care team. In 2021 alone, he committed a whopping 360 hours, assisting the animal care staff to take care of their avian collection.
“We are very grateful for his dedication and support throughout the years.”
Rockhampton Zoo - Elise Moffat
Elise has volunteered at Rockhampton Zoo for two years, assisting keepers with making enrichment, food prep, enclosure servicing and dingo walking.
The activity she enjoys most is anything to do with the dingos, as they are her favourite animal and she also loves the otters. Elise finds that the most rewarding aspect of volunteering at Rockhampton Zoo is working with a team of like-minded people who care about the animals. She finds it a really special place to be.
Elise undertook a student placement at Rockhampton Zoo in 2019 for her university course and loved being here so much that she came back to volunteer regularly. She has recently completed her Bachelor of Science, majoring in Biology.
Taronga - Ian Lau, Helen Jones and Judy Szittner
Ian Lau volunteers for Taronga’s free-flight birds experience every Thursday. Ian commenced his time with Taronga when undertaking his Certificate III in Captive Animal Studies. During that time, Ian had placement on free-flight birds and it was clear that he is a hard worker and has a lot of potential. Ian expressed interest in free-flight training and was offered a volunteering position. Ian will soon be assisting the Free Flight bird team by securing the Black-breasted Buzzard after the hawk has demonstrated its unusual ability to crack open emu eggs.
Free Flight Birds also has a small team of volunteers that assist with bush regeneration around the site. The team currently comprises of Helen Jones and Judy Szittner.
“Their passion for maintaining our area and ensuring our native plants have the opportunity for regrowth is extremely appreciated.”
National zoo and aquarium Canberra - Sue Fallon
“A very familiar face to all staff, volunteers and even our visitors, Sue Fallon works tirelessly every day for conservation in ways that many wouldn’t even expect. “
Sue has been a volunteer at the National Zoo & Aquarium Canberra for many years and has a passion for recycling. She encouraged the zoo to put in dedicated soft plastic bins that Sue collects 3 times a week. So far, she has saved around 4.2 tonnes of soft plastic that would have otherwise gone to landfill in three and a half years!
Sue also Sue has raised more than $40,000 for a variety of wildlife charities and causes through the ACT Container Deposit Scheme Return-IT programme. For each bottle collected, she received 10c meaning over 400,000 bottles had been collected for wildlife. They now have a target to reach $50,000 raised by August!
Sue has inspired the whole community through her work and commitment to preserving our planet into the future. “She has now even recruited a team to help her with her mammoth collection efforts! We are very excited to see this programme grow into the future.”
Auckland Zoo - volunteers prove lifesavers during Covid pandemic
“When asked to write a spotlight on just one of Auckland Zoo’s 150 volunteers – it was an impossible task. Ranging from 16-90 years old, each and every one of our volunteers are critical to the fabric of our organisation and are a valued part of our zoo whānau ( family).”
Tāmaki Makarau Auckland spent the last half of 2021 in a three-month lockdown ( with the zoo closed to visitors) and following this, tight restrictions on how the zoo opened and operated. So many of their volunteers stepped up during this period to help them - making masses of fabric masks for their essential zoo workers, cutting and collecting grass daily for their ectotherm and bird species and providing moral support, optimism and fascinating stories through their weekly staff and volunteer newsletter.
As Auckland Zoo reopened to the community, so many volunteers were eager to return to the zoo, and did, despite many having their own lives and jobs impacted by COVID-19. “We are delighted to see this invaluable crew in red out and about every day engaging our visitors and being shining examples of delivering our mission to bring people together to build a future for wildlife.”
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary – Three volunteer programs
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has three main Volunteer programs with over 450 valued volunteers. The volunteers provide great experiences, welcome guests, help with animals and help support the team's conservation vision.
“Our volunteers are Conservation Champions helping us immensely in our mission to support and care for Australian native wildlife and some exotic species through our conservation projects and Wildlife Hospital.”